2017-2018 Events

Welcome to Mercer Island Parent Edge. We operate as part of the Mercer Island School District PTSA. For the 2017-2018 school year, we are excited to bring to our Mercer Island community, two films and three speakers. Please see our lineup below. We look forward to seeing you at one or all of the Parent Edge events!

Ivory Tower (film & panelist session)

6:30 PM, SEPTEMBER 27, Mercer Island Library, Free Event

KCLS Presents the “Life After High School Series”View portions of Ivory Tower, a documentary that looks at the cost and value of a college education. After the film, a panel including college counselors, parents, and a student activist will answer questions about choosing a college and financing a college education. For parents with students in grades 9-12. Sponsored by Friends of the MI Library

Three of the panelists will offer the following in-depth programs in October at the Mercer Island Library:

JO LANGFORD – Tweens, Teens, and Tech, OCT 25, 2017  7 PM  MIHS PAC
Do you know what your teen is doing on their phone? Jo Langford is a Masters-level therapist, and sex educator for tweens, teens, and parents in Seattle. He will address the most popular apps teens are using; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – The Three Big Bads; Sexting, Cyberbullying and Porn, and what parents can do about them. He is the author of Spare Me ‘The Talk’! (for boys & for girls) and is featured in Parent Map.For parents with students in Middle & High School, Parents only!www.beheroes.net

ANGST (IndieFlix Film) – Anxiety and Kid, FEB 6, 2018  7 PM  MIHS PAC
Parent Edge in partnership with Mercer Island Library and Youth and Family Services presents ANGST– Breaking the Stigma Around Anxiety. Children and young adults offer intimate, honest and accessible perspectives on suffering from and managing anxiety. Experts highlight research and offer tools and resources that provide hope. There will be a panel discussion post-screening. For parents with students of all ages & students in grades 7-12www.angstmovie.com

JASON FRELOT – Kids and Race, JAN 18, 2018  7 PM  MIHS Library
How can parents and educators empower their children to be successful participants in an increasingly racialized world? Learn from Jason how the stories we unintentionally tell our children to have the greatest impact on their racial identity development and steps for empowering families to address racial injustice in a loving, sustainable, humble way. Jason Frelot is a father, early childhood educator, social justice advocate, and co-founder of Kids and Race Seattle, which has been featured in Parent Map Magazine and on NPR. For parents with students in Preschool through middle school

JESSICA LAHEY – The Gift of Failure, MAR 20, 2018  7 PM  MIHS PAC
Research has shown that the key to motivating students to own their education and develop resilience is intrinsic motivation. Jessica offers practical advice for fostering intrinsic motivation and weaning kids off of extrinsic motivators such as short-term rewards, bribes, honors, coercion, and yes, even grades while giving kids the support and encouragement they need in order to succeed. Jessica Lahey is the author of the New York Times Best Seller, “The Gift of Failure.” For parents with kids of all ageswww.jessicalahey.com

Podcasts & Videos

"Master Minds & Wingman" video by Rosalind Wiseman
Rosalind’s new book, Masterminds & Wingmen, shows what’s really happening in boys’ lives. It creates a new language and analytical framework to understand the power of boys’ social hierarchies and how these influence their decision-making and emotiona